WASHINGTON — Three of Colorado's members of Congress are donating roughly $7,700 of salary they collected during the 16-day partial government shutdown to charities.

Another is donating his to the U.S. Treasury.

Sen. Michael Bennet is donating his shutdown pay to the Weld County Food Bank, and Rep. Cory Gardner is donating part of his salary to the same place and the rest to other charities in his district.

Rep. Mike Coffman is giving his to the Red Cross. Rep. Jared Polis, whose staff says the Boulder Democrat normally gives all his salary to charity, will give his shutdown portion back to the federal government for debt relief.

Rank-and-file members of Congress make $174,000 a year.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora.

The Weld County Food Bank has been working daily, nightly and on weekends to provide food boxes as well as hot meals to flood victims in northern Colorado.

Executive Director Bob O'Connor hadn't heard Monday when contacted by a reporter he was getting cash from Gardner, R-Yuma, and Bennet, a Democrat.

"That's news to us," he said. "Our efforts are ongoing. We just gave out 30 emergency food boxes with meat. It's going to be a long recovery. Our own driver lost his house in the flood."

The food bank has doled out 130,000 pounds of food since the flood, including hot meals to schools in Greeley and Evans, and has set up a mobile food pantry in Milliken.

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Coffman, R-Aurora, will give his salary to the Red Cross, which also helped flood victims. "Mike refused to take a salary while the Congress is so dysfunctional that it shutdown," spokesman Clay Sutton said. "Mike chose to donate his salary from the government shutdown to the Red Cross specifically, because of their efforts rebuilding after the Colorado floods and his tremendous respect for the great work they do."

Sen. Michael Bennet (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

Rep. Doug Lamborn said in the first days of the shutdown that he had asked to have his pay withheld. Once federal workers were given back pay for the shutdown period, Lamborn asked to have his pay restored as well.

Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat, also will keep his salary. He had said he would forgo his salary if federal workers went without.

Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter kept their pay. Perlmutter said a few weeks ago in an interview with The Denver Post that he didn't have the means to give up half a month's salary.

Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, said initially he would give up pay, although his staff didn't respond to questions Monday on whether he did so.

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